


Cú

by hiddeninflame



Category: Original Work
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-24
Updated: 2021-02-24
Packaged: 2021-03-15 12:29:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 401
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29684004
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hiddeninflame/pseuds/hiddeninflame
Summary: Corann interrogates his adoptive son over an incident involving another boy.A short drabble based on a Tumblr prompt.





	Cú

I sat across the table from his little puffy face as he sniffed back his tears. Everyday I have to remind myself that this snotty-nosed boy was worth the effort of raising him. Luna adored him and acted more like a mother to him than she had with our real sons. We had five and this half elf seemed to have a place in her heart even I didn’t. 

‘Why did you hurt Eoghan?’ I said for the third time, trying to seem every bit the stern father. Eoghan was a repugnant boy and I’d have kicked him too if I wasn’t an adult. 

Aedan sniffed again. Then again. And then he wiped his snotty face with his cuff and kicked his legs a little. ‘I didn’t.’ 

‘You did.’ 

‘I didn’t, I didn’t, I didn’t!’ Aedan jumped off of the chair with a scrape and scurried upstairs so fast it was like catching an oily rat. 

I remained seated there for a few minutes before deciding to persue him. Taking every step slowly gave me time to consider my approach. My other boys had all feared the lash but that never worked with Aedan. Aedan never asked for anything, so cutting those benefits didn’t work, either. 

Stopping in front of Aedan’s door, I took a breath. What had Luna said? Sensitive boys like Aedan had to be handled with care? I didn’t see the point if it was just going to make him a girl and not the man he needed to be to survive out there. 

'Aedan?’ 

No response. 

‘Aedan, I’m not upset with you.’ It was a lie. A blatant one, too. ‘Men hit each other all the time.’ 

Still no response. 

I had to count my breaths. The boy had no respect for me. ‘Aedan, I just need to know what happened with Eoghan.’ 

There was a small shuffling and I stepped back from the door as it cracked open. Aedan’s face was redder and he shone with tears and snot and all the digusting things children tended to leak. 

‘He tried to drown Cú.’ Aedan’s voice was soft and quiet, almost a whisper. 

‘Aedan,’ I said, slowly. ‘What did you do to Eoghan?’ 

‘So I did it to him! Show him how Cú liked it.’ 

When I saw the blind determination in Aedan’s eyes, I realised I’d missed something in the past. He was his father’s son. 


End file.
